1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for augmenting a billing service. More specifically, the present invention relates to providing billing services to account for deficiencies in an existing billing system so that new services may be introduced and properly accounted for without the need for modification/overhaul of the existing system.
2. Background of the Invention
Large billing systems, such as those operated or managed by a telecommunications service provider, are traditionally known for being difficult to change or enhance. This difficulty can be compounded by, for example, an acquisition of one service provider along with its outdated billing system, by another service provider. Until the acquired entity can be integrated into the parent entity's system, the old billing system must be used and maintained. In addition, some service providers may switch to new software and, as a result, be unwilling to modify older software that is slated to be phased out. During the phase out period, the old software may be inadequate for handling new service offerings. In some circumstances, it simply is often the case that a complex billing system requires long lead times for implementation of new billing modules.
In any of these situations, as well as many others that may be encountered, it would not be uncommon for an upgrade in a telecommunications billing system to take ten to twelve months, or more. As a result, service offerings may often be gated or constrained only to that which a service provider's billing system can support. The rationale behind this is that until the billing system is capable of properly accounting for usage of a new offering, the service provider simply will decline to offer that service. This creates an unfortunate situation whereby a new and/or desirous service is ready for introduction, but has to be withheld until the billing department can provide proper billing support.
Such a delay in roll out of new services can severely hamper a service provider from being able to respond quickly to market conditions. Other areas that may be similarly impacted are the ability to implement new customer acquisition and retention programs, deployment of products and services with higher revenue potential, and the ability to offer more flexible pricing models, just to name a few examples.
It would be desirable to provide a billing augmentation service that could alleviate one or more problems associated with the above-described and other similar billing system deficiencies.